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Increased Restrictions on Foreign Workers Start July 1

On July 1, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will introduce several changes originally announced in February as part of an effort to reduce Singapore’s reliance on foreign workers.

Tighter restrictions on foreign workers set to be implemented on July 1 include:

Levies on less-skilled foreign workers will increase by SG$150 in all sectors until July 1, 2015. This amount will increase to SG$300 for companies that employ workers outside the Man-Year Entitlement. The Man-Year Entitlement is a quota that applies to companies hiring workers from certain countries for construction projects.

Monthly salary increases for S-pass holders in all sectors from SG$2,000 to SG$2,200.

Debt Ratio Ceiling (DRC), or quota, for S passes in the services sector will be reduced to 15 percent of the workforce until July 1, 2015. The current quota for this type is 20 percent of the workforce.

DRC for work permits for the service sector will reduce from 45 percent to 40 percent of the workforce. The S pass sub-DRC, or sub-quota for an individual company, will reduce from 20 percent to 15 percent. The reductions apply to new applicants as of July 1, 2013, and to existing workers as of July 1, 2015.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@balglobal.com.